Archive for January 2012
Champions League Soccer
The UEFA Champions League is the main soccer tournament for the European top clubs. Every year the teams from all the major leagues compete against each other, firstly in a group stage, followed by a series of straight knock out rounds culminating with the final match held in a different European city every year. The current holders of the competition are AC Milan, who beat Liverpool 2-1 in the 2007 final held in Athens, Greece.
Established in 1992, the UEFA Champions League evolved from the now defunct European Cup. Originally only the previous champions of each European league were eligible to enter the competition. To satisfy the growing pressure from Europe’s top clubs for a European league, UEFA decided to set up a tournament that will allow not only the champions but also the other top three or four clubs in each league to compete.
This revamped tournament began in 1992 under the title ‘UEFA Champions League’. The winners of the tournament play off in an annual exhibition match against the champions of the South American equivalent of the Champions League, the Copa Libertadores.
Each year, thirty-two teams are able to enter the tournament at the group stage. There are sixteen teams that qualify automatically by either winning their league or finishing as the runner-up. The remaining teams are the winners from a pre-qualifying round held in August each year. The number of clubs from each country is dependent on the number of points they have accumulated over a five year period. This is calculated through a combination of each country’s club results in previous tournaments and the results of their respective national teams in the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championships.
The group stage of the Champions League starts every year in September and runs until December. Teams are drawn in groups of four and play each other twice; home and away. The best performing teams from previous years (i.e. the seeded teams) are drawn so that they cannot meet each other in the group stage. After these games have been completed, the top two teams qualify for the first of three knock out stages.
These rounds are played over two games, home and away and the team with the most goals overall qualifies for the next stage. The final is held in May and is decided over one game. If there is no winner after ninety minutes, then an extra period of 30 minutes and then if necessary a penalty shoot-out takes place to decide the winner.
There have been many great and exciting matches in the Champions League over the years, but the one that many recall from recent history is the 2005 Final between AC Milan and Liverpool. The game was held in Istanbul, Turkey and the Italians came into the game as favorites. This expectation seemed to hold true when at the half time stage Milan led by 3 goals. However, in an amazing eight minute period early in the second half, Liverpool scored three times, including a penalty to create an amazing recovery. In extra time there was further drama when Milan top striker, Andrei Shevchenko missed an easy opportunity to score the winner for Milan. Finally, after this drama, Liverpool won the Champions League in a penalty shoot out.
English Premier Soccer League
Regarded as the most popular and richest soccer league in the world, the English Premier League was established in 1992 after breaking away from the traditional Football League. Now in its sixteenth season, the Premier League is capable of attracting the best soccer players from around the world and its top teams compete regularly in the latter stages of Europe’s premier soccer tournament, the UEFA Champions League.
Origins of the Premier League: During the 1980s, the reputation of English soccer was at an all time low. Years of misbehavior from fans and a number of related tragedies, had subsequently led to English clubs getting banned from participating in European club competitions.
For this reason the top clubs were unable to sign the best players and they could not complete financially with the major teams in the other European leagues. Consequently, spectator attendances at many of the games began to decline rapidly.
However by 1990, many of these trends began to reverse. The English national team played a great tournament in that year’s World Cup, reaching the semi-finals and this encouraged a feeling of renewed interest in the game. UEFA removed its ban on English clubs participating in the Champions League and compulsory seating was introduced in all stadiums to alleviate the problems associated with violence amongst spectators.
In the midst of this renewed optimism, the top soccer clubs such as Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United decided to break away from the existing league structure to capitalize on the influx of television money that was offered by new satellite broadcasters such as Sky TV.
Best Players in the League
There are plenty of soccer superstars playing in Spain’s top division, and it is with good reason that it is regarded as the number one domestic league in the whole world. Below are the players who are widely regarded as being the best in Spain…
Messi : At the forefront of Barcelona’s unique treble winning team of 2008-09, Argentinean Lionel Messi continually dazzles Europe with his creativity and flair. He can run, pass, dribble and shoot with such quality that he often has two opposition players marking him for the entire match. Still only 22, he is FIFA’s current “World Player of the Year” and he well on the way to acquiring the legendary status of all time great Pele and Maradona.
Kaka : Brazilian midfield maestro Kaka, is a playmaker of the highest calibre. Able to make pinpoint passes across the entire length of the field, or dribble past several players in a row, Kaka was the darling of AC Milan and led them to “Champions League” glory in 2007. Now one of the jewels in Real Madrid’s crown, he aims to bring the La Liga title back to the Bernabau (where Real Madrid play their home games) after a few years absence.
Cristiano Ronaldo : Blistering pace and explosive power are the qualities that first alerted veteran manager Alex Ferguson to Cristiano Ronaldo’s outstanding talent. He started his soccer career as a winger, but soccer genius Ferguson soon realized that Ronaldo was more suited to being playing in a central role. Ferguson’s decision was shown to be correct when Ronaldo netted over 40 premier league goals in his last season in the English Premier League. Now sporting the colors of Real Madrid, Ronaldo is hoping to make as big an impact for el Madrid as he did in the famous red shirt of Man Utd.